One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Influential Time in Office

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "real president".

Bush resented that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Policies

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."

However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty